Yellow Racers
In The Phantom Menace, Anakin Skywalker uses a podracer of his own creation to win his freedom from slavery on Tatooine. Anakin’s podracer, with its exposed engines and prominent yellow highlights, pointedly evokes John Milner’s yellow drag racer in George Lucas’ 1975 film American Graffiti:
Anakin and Milner are both racers and gearheads who are skilled at building and modifying their fast machines as well as driving them. Milner is renowned among the youth of Modesto as the town’s reigning racing champion, and Anakin gains renown among his young friends in Mos Espa as the champion of the Boonta Eve Podrace.
In Attack of the Clones, Anakin commandeers another yellow vehicle to chase the bounty hunter Zam Wessell through Coruscant. With its hot rod-esque design and exposed engines, this yellow speeder evokes John Milner’s yellow car even more overtly than Anakin’s podracer:
However, in this instance, the reference to American Graffiti suggests a different similarity between Anakin and Milner. In American Graffiti, Milner’s yellow car is a symbol not only of his accomplishments, but also of his immaturity. While other, younger characters are concerned with going to college or getting married, Milner continues to cling to his youthful success as a drag racer, even though – as he realizes at the end of the film – such success cannot last. Similarly, Anakin’s immature bickering with Obi-Wan Kenobi over the yellow speeder (”Oh, you know, Master, I couldn’t find a speeder that I really liked – with the open cockpit and the right speed capabilities”) points to the underlying tension in their relationship: Anakin is continuing to cling to reminders of his childhood on Tatooine, while Obi-Wan wants him to let go.
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Characters: Anakin Skywalker
Films: Episode I: The Phantom Menace / Episode II: Attack of the Clones
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Concepts: children / letting go / racing
Influences: American Graffiti
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